I TRY not to get emotionally involved with my patients, but Don and Helen Winslet leave me no choice. “We want to go to India,” says Don, and before he can give me the where, when and why, I find I’ve misted over. Vast, bemusing, confounding, compelling, India is my favourite place on the holiday planet.

So, where would they like to go? “No idea,” says Don, shifting uncomfortably. “We’d love to see some temples and forts, and the Himalayas would be a bonus — perhaps we could even do a short trek. Beyond that, well... that’s why we came to you. We have about £5,000 between us, and two or three weeks to play with.”

THEORETICALLY, the Winslets could shop around for flights — Trailfinders (020 7938 3939, www.trailfinders.com) has flights with Qatar Airways from £340 — then contact the incomparable MAhout (020 7373 7121, www.mahoutuk.com), which represents 25 exquisite heritage hotels around India, including hill forts, tea-plantation houses, maharajah’s palaces and luxury wildlife camps. However — and this is a big however — that still leaves internal travel to sort out, and there’s not enough Nurofen in the world to ease that pain. First-timers to India are well advised to go through a UK operator. I’m prescribing plenty of train travel: it’s fabulous theatre and a great way to meet locals.

THE WINSLETS

Don, 70, is a retired banker; Helen, 69, is a retired school financial adviser. They live in Ashtead, Surrey.

Last CD bought
Him: Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky
Her: The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Last book read
Him: The Covenant by James Michener
Her: The Year 1000: An Englishman’s Year by Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger

Favourite food
Him: fish
Her: curry

Top tipple
Him: Chablis
Her: coffee

Continued on page 2: what the Doc suggests

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